Between 1933 and 1945, more than 340,000 Jews emigrated from Germany and Austria. Tragically, nearly 100,000 of them found refuge in countries subsequently conquered by Germany. German authorities would deport and kill the vast majority of them. After Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, nations in western Europe and the Americas feared an influx of refugees. About 85,000 Jewish refugees reached the United States between March 1938 and September 1939, but this level of immigration was far below the number seeking refuge. In late 1938, 125,000 applicants lined up outside US consulates hoping to obtain 27,000 visas under the existing immigration quota. By June 1939, the number of applicants had increased to over 300,000. Most visa applicants were unsuccessful and remained trapped in Europe. At the Evian Conference on refugees in July 1938, only the Dominican Republic stated that it was prepared to admit significant numbers of refugees, although Bolivia would admit more than 20,000 Jewish immigrants between 1938 and 1941. All other nations refused to offer additional refuge.

Over 60,000 German Jews immigrated to Palestine during the 1930s, most under the terms of an agreement between Germany and the Jewish authorities in Palestine. The British White Paper in May 1939, a policy statement approved by the British Parliament, contained measures that severely limited Jewish entry into Palestine. As the number of hospitable destinations dwindled, 17,000 German, Austrian, and Polish Jews immigrated to Shanghai, which did not require a visa for entry. During the second half of 1941, even as unconfirmed reports of the mass murder perpetrated by the Nazis filtered to the West, the US Department of State placed even stricter limits on immigration. At the Bermuda Conference on refugees in April 1943, the Allies offered no concrete proposals for rescue.